Latest Lab Talk news in brief: Lab space, awards, certification, events, acquisitions, R&D

The fourth quarter of 2025 revealed the period’s first decline in vacancies, a sharp slowdown in construction and resilient demand for lab space, according to a new report from CBRE. 

Previously the sector had struggled owing to over construction and sluggish demand contributing to vacancy rates rising past 20% on average across the top 13 markets.
Last quarter, though, recorded the first decline in vacancies since the second quarter of 2022, while construction completions fell 88% from the third quarter. The second half of last year was the strongest six-month period for venture capital funding of life sciences companies since 2022.

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Minister for Industry, Chris McDonald MP joined industry experts and policymakers together in London for IChemE’s second energy transition debate exploring the role of chemical engineering in delivering the UK’s industrial strategy, net-zero targets and sustainable growth ambitions. 

The debate, whose contributors included IChemE president, professor Raffaella Ocone, focussed on industrial policy, geopolitics and sustainability, highlighting how chemical engineers could support the UK’s transition to a low-carbon economy. An estimated 100 attendees were present for the event. 

IChemE noted that as a chemical engineer, Cambridge graduate McDonald MP was “uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between chemical engineering and politics”.

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Publisher of Lab Bulletin Russell Purvis has announced his decision to retire from the industry with his wife, sales director Sandie Purvis after 16 years at the helm of the site. 

Writing on LinkedIn, he said: “This industry has given us so many wonderful experiences, but we feel it's the right time to begin a new chapter.
 
“With this change and after 16 years, Lab Bulletin will be taken offline at the end of January. It has been an honour to run the platform, to share news, insights, and innovations from across the industry. We hugely appreciate everyone who contributed to it, followed it, and helped make it what it became.”

The online resource for scientists and lab personnel was founded to “initiate dialogue between end users and suppliers of scientific equipment”.

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Diabetes drugs that may soon be prescribed more widely in England could save thousands of lives each year, suggest researchers at UCL and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).

Last year the UK diabetes guideline committee at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) proposed SGLT-2 inhibitors alongside the drug metformin, as a first-line treatment for people with type 2 diabetes. Final guidance is expected to be published on 18 February.

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Registration has opened for Chemspec Europe 2026, which will return to Koelnmesse, Cologne on 6–7 May this year.

Billed as the leading cross-sector sourcing hub for fine and speciality chemicals, it is aimed at producers, buyers and technical experts from across pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, speciality materials, coatings, personal care, electronics, energy and many other industries that rely on chemical solutions.

Organisers said the international line-up would include more than 400 global suppliers with innovations on view from firms including Albemarle, Brenntag, CABB Group, Johnson Matthey, Saltigo, Sinopec and Yashashvi Rasayan. 

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Momentum Pharma has achieved a renewal of its Clinical Research Business Process Quality Certification (BPQC) from the International Accrediting Organization for Clinical Research (IAOCR). In December 2024, said the firm, it became the first organisation in the world to be granted its initial certification

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Joint winner of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry professor Omar Yaghi has been awarded the Sheikh Saud International Prize for Materials Science while attending the 17th International Workshop on Advanced Materials in the UAE sheikdom of Ras Al Khaimah.

 He received the award from UAE Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi.

University of California, Berkeley-based Yaghi’s work in materials chemistry is credited with advances in clean energy, carbon capture and sustainable technologies - with significant implications for the global transition to lower-carbon systems.

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An almost entirely biodegradable circuit board could help reduce the environmental harms of electronic waste, suggest its inventors.

Researchers from the University of Glasgow developed a method of printing zinc-based electronic circuits on environmentally-friendly surfaces including paper and bioplastics. They say 99% of the materials employed can be disposed of safely through ordinary soil composting or by dissolving in commonly available chemicals such as vinegar.

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Teysha Technologies’ Dr. Karen Wooley and Matthew Stone have been awarded the 2026 Hill Prize in Physical Sciences, alongside Dr. Senthil Kumar Boopathi and Dr. Ashlee Jahnke, for pioneering a new class of biodegradable polymers designed to replace BPA-based plastics.

The Hill Prize global award for early-stage research with societal impact provides $500,000 to make real-world use of validated science.

The winners’ work centres on patent-pending polymer chemistry that converts plant-derived sugars and natural phenolics into high-performance materials that match conventional plastics but safely degrade at end of life. The chemistry is now being scaled through Teysha Technologies, to allow testing and deployment beyond the lab.

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At the BIA Gala Dinner, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Liz Kendall MP announced that the MRC Lab for Molecular Biology, based in Cambridge, will receive 10 years of guaranteed government funding, starting with around £50 million a year over the Spending Review period.  

The pledge is part of the Government’s manifesto commitment to scrap short-term funding cycles for key R&D institutions in favour of 10-year budgets. 

This came alongside a confirmation that the dedicated budget for life sciences will guarantee £1.5 billion for R&D in life sciences over the next four years.

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Pharma innovation hub BioMed X has launched a research project in partnership with the Government of Barbados, with support from the European Union’s PharmaNext Programme.

The new global call for research proposals addresses the biological heterogeneity of early diabetic kidney disease in the Barbadian population.

It will analysethe molecular mechanisms driving early diabetic kidney disease in individuals with Type 2 Diabetes in Barbados through deep molecular profiling and advanced AI-based modelling.

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Scientific research and consumer product sample stability and biorepository storage firm Astoriom has expanded its sample management capabilities in the US with the acquisition of Precision Stability Storage. This acquisition marks a strategic expansion of Astoriom’s footprint in North America, strengthening its presence in high-growth regions for biopharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical technology innovation

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Independent healthcare waste management specialist Anenta has been named UK Healthcare Waste Management Services Company of the Year for the second year running at the Healthcare Business Review Europe Awards 2026.

The judges highlighted Anenta’s proprietary Vector platform, which it is claimed, has helped save primary care clients more than £13 million in charges and deliver £35 million in efficiency gains by reducing waste administration and billing errors.

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Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) will launch the InterACT COFUND postdoctoral fellowship programme in September 2026, co-funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe Marie Sk?odowska-Curie Actions. The initiative is managed by the European Research and Innovation Support (ERIS) team of the Vice Rectorate Innovation and Industry Relations. Over a period of five years, the postdoctoral programme will recruit 14 international researchers through two competitive calls.

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A new imaging contract research organisation (iCRO), Fid?s has been launched for early-phase clinical development, where imaging decisions have the greatest impact on scientific direction, risk, and outcomes.
Fid?s’ founders said it was created to address a growing gap in the imaging CRO landscape for deeply engaged, science-led partners who help sponsors determine “what to measure, why it matters, and when imaging data signals a need to change course”.

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Pic (clockwise from top left): Omar Yaghi , Raffaella Ocone and Chris McDonald, Chemspec